New Home Construction Good News for Qualified Operators

Good news keeps coming from the housing construction sector. Newly released statistics from the United States Commerce Department revealed that housing starts jumped in April and new building permits hit their highest level in six years. Great news like this means a growing need for heavy equipment and qualified heavy equipment operators. However, there are reports that construction builders are worried about a lack of skilled and trained heavy equipment operators – meeting demand could be a challenge because of the shortage.

Here at North America Heavy Equipment and Training Services (NAHETS), we believe that the statistics and survey is a good news/bad news scenario. Obviously, new construction will lead to new jobs and opportunity, but we never want to see builders struggle due to a shortage of skilled workers. At NAHETS we are dedicated to assisting companies train their existing staff but also training new workers looking to start a career in the heavy equipment industry. We offer a wide variety of training options that will help builders and construction companies meet the upcoming demand.

According to the Commerce Department, groundbreakings increased 13.2 percent in April, the highest increase since last November with each region in the United States reporting an increase. Additionally, groundbreakings were up 26.4 percent as compared to April of 2013.

Last month, groundbreaking for single-family homes rose .8 percent to a 649,000-unit pace. The single-family home market is the largest part of the segment. Starts for multifamily homes segment were up 39.6 percent to a 423,000-unit rate. Groundbreaking for buildings with five or more units were at the highest level reported since 2006.

Permits to build homes jumped 8 percent to a 1.08-million unit pace in April, the highest since June 2008. Compared to April last year, permits were up 3.8 percent. Permits for multifamily homes increased 19.5 percent to a 478,000-unit rate in April.

“We are thrilled to see the demand increasing for new homes and new construction, but we also understand the challenge for builders to meet this demand and we our doing our part to help the industry meet their obligations,” says Jarad Van Wagoner, Director of Development with NAHETS. “From our Train-the-Trainer Course, to onsite, custom training sessions, to preparing brand new operators, we have systems in place to activate workers in a short amount of time and get them ready for real-world construction.”

Every building needs a strong foundation and every operator needs quality training. All of us in the construction and heavy equipment industries are in this together and NAHETS look forward to assisting and providing the highest quality operators possible.